Partners (BELMOD)

BELMOD is a research project funded by DG Employment - EaSI of the European Commission and coordinated by the Belgian Federal Public Service for Social Security. The University of Essex and the University of Antwerp act as co-applicants, the Federal Pension Office and the National Institute for Sickness and Disability Insurance contribute as associated organisations. Some tasks will be carried out by subcontractors (Belgian Federal Planning Bureau and KU Leuven).

Federal Public Service Social Security

The FPS Social Security acts as coordinator of the project.

  • Arne Corselis   
  • Silke Laenen
  • Gineke Mampaey
  • Natascha Van Mechelen
  • Ilse Verschueren
  • Tine Hufkens

Contact: belmod@minsoc.fed.be

University of Antwerp

The Centre for Social Policy Herman Deleeck (CSB) focuses on inequality and poverty in industrialised countries and contributes to issues of (multidimensional) measurement and analysis of outcomes in relation to institutions and policies. The CSB has an extensive and coherent research programme that focuses on the study of socio-economic inequalities in developed and emerging welfare states, especially as they affect the most vulnerable groups. The research consists of: 1) addressing the question "equality of what?" and developing corresponding tools to measure poverty and inequality; 2) developing measures to capture policy efforts and change; 3) analysing the relationship between policies and socio-economic outcomes; and 4) studying alternative paths to improving the situation of the least well-off.

  • Johannes Derboven
  • Tim Goedemé
  • Julie Janssens
  • Pétra Levay
  • Gerlinde Verbist

Contact: Gerlinde Verbist - gerlinde.verbist@uantwerpen.be

University of Essex

ISER was originally established in 1989 at the University of Essex to house the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and has become a leading centre for the production and analysis of longitudinal studies. It includes the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change and the successor to BHPS, Understanding Society. In addition to offering unparalleled postdoctoral study opportunities, ISER has an internationally renowned microsimulation unit that develops and operates the EUROMOD tax-benefit model.

  • Diego Collado
  • Kostas Manios
  • Matteo Richiardi

Contact: Matteo Richiardi - matteo.richiardi@essex.ac.uk

Federal Planning Bureau

The FPB is an independent government agency that forecasts, researches and analyses public policy. Its main mission is to support the political decision-making process. To this end, it shares its expertise with the government, parliament, social partners and national and international institutions. The FPB carries out studies and projections on economic, social and environmental policy issues and on the integration of these policies in a context of sustainable development.

  • Joanna Geerts
  • Yannick Thuy
  • Guy Van Camp
  • Dieter Vandelannoote

Contact: Dieter Vandelannoote - dvdl@plan.be

KU Leuven

The team of the KU Leuven Economics Research Unit consists of four researchers and is headed by Professor André Decoster. In recent years, they have built up considerable expertise in the field of microsimulation models. They have already developed numerous other microsimulation models such as ASTER (a demand system for simulating the reaction to changes in consumer prices), MIMOSIS (a microsimulation model of taxes, social security contributions and benefits based on administrative data), FANTASI (a detailed model of personal taxes), and the Indirect Tax Module for EUROMOD (commissioned by JRC). In addition, together with the University of Antwerp, they form the Belgian national team responsible for the maintenance and update of the EUROMOD microsimulation model.

  • Jonas Vanderkelen
  • Daan Vandervelde
  • Toon Vanheukelom
  • Stijn Vanhoutven
  • André Decoster

Contact: Jonas Vanderkelen - jonas.vanderkelen@kuleuven.be

Support centre for the fight against poverty, insecurity and social exclusion

The Steunpunt tot bestrijding van armoede, bestaansonzekerheid en sociale uitsluiting was created as an instrument in the fight against poverty by the Federal State, the Communities and the Regions. It evaluates the effectiveness of the fundamental rights of people living in difficult socio-economic circumstances: the right to decent housing, the right to energy, the right to the protection of family life, the right to social protection, the right to health protection, ... To this end, it organises in-depth consultations between the associations where the poor take the floor, the public centres for public welfare (CPAS), the social partners, professionals from the various sectors, administrations, ... On the basis of this work, it formulates recommendations with respect to the political leaders of our country with a view to restoring the conditions for the exercise of fundamental rights. These recommendations are forwarded to the various governments, parliaments and advisory bodies for political debate and action. Within the BELMOD project, the support centre acts as organiser of the stakeholders consultation.

  • Veerle Stroobants
  • Henk Van Hootegem

Contact: Henk Van Hootegem - henk.vanhootegem@cntr.be